Monday, August 2, 2010

Wheat Continues Rally Due to Russian Drought

Wheat prices continued its rally from last Friday. Future contracts rose by more than 5% to reach a 14-month high of $6.61/bushel, setting the largest monthly gain since at least 1959, Barclays Capital said.
The jump was fuelled by concerns over possible wheat export controls in the Black Sea states, which continue to suffer from their worst drought in over a century. Russia produces about 8% of wheat world output.
Still, Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, recently stroke an import agreement with Russia on Saturday.
Other wheat producing regions in India and Pakistan are also suffering from heavy rain and floods, BarCap said.